Love Be Mine (The Louisiana Ladies Series, Book 3) (29 page)

Jean stood up. "
Non
. We will leave. We only came to welcome you to the city, and it is time we were on our way." Shaking John's hand once more, Jean said, "I have enjoyed our talk this evening—and I did not expect to!"

"Surprisingly, so did I," John admitted with a crooked grin. "Perhaps we have both grown mellow with age?"

Smiling and shaking his head at the same time, Jean murmured, "Who can tell? This promises to be a most interesting summer, that I can tell you!"

The two Lancasters escorted their departing guests to the front door. Shutting the door behind them, Hugh said, "I shall see Etienne now. I do not know how long I shall be."

John shot him a shrewd glance. "It appears that Mr. Gras's arrival is a bit more than just the innocent business matter you described to the others."

"Yes, it is. I would have preferred that our guests had not learned his name or of his visit. I am hoping that Mr. Gras will prove to be the weak link in the chain of our thieves."

"You suspect one of them? Certainly not Jasper!"

"No, not Jasper," Hugh said with a laugh. Then he turned somber. "But as for the others..."

The two men parted, John deciding to seek out his bed and Hugh to meet with Etienne. After bidding his stepfather good night, Hugh entered the small parlor at the front of the house. Etienne was nervously pacing the floor, his young face white and tense. The mere opening of the door had him starting like a hare flushed by a hound.

His eyes wide and fearful, he stared at Hugh as if he had seen a ghost.
"Monsieur!"
he cried. "You did not tell me that you would have guests. I never would have called tonight if I had known."

Hugh indicated that he should be seated and murmured, "I am sorry. I had no idea that I
would
have guests this evening and I did not know that you would choose to call tonight." He glanced at Etienne as the young man gingerly sat down. "The men who just left are all known to you—Jean Dupree, François Dupree, and Alain Husson. All, one, or none of them
could
be involved in the thefts at the company—until we know differently, you would be wise to be on your guard against all three of them." Hugh grimaced. "It was
most
unfortunate that they were here tonight of all nights."

Etienne swallowed and muttered,
"Sacrebleu!
Unfortunate does not describe it. It could mean my
life
if anyone suspects that I am meeting with you."

Hugh remembered that odd moment when he had reluctantly mentioned Etienne's name earlier. "Just meeting with me would put you in danger?" he asked, his eyes fixed on Etienne's pale face.

Etienne gave a bitter laugh. "Oh,
oui
! The men who steal from your company are powerful. They will kill me if they even
think
I mean to cooperate with you."

Hugh said nothing for several seconds. He had been so intent upon his own goal that he had not considered he could be putting Etienne's life in danger by wooing him to his side. Silently Hugh cursed himself for not realizing that he might be dealing with ruthless men—men who would apparently kill. But would these men really kill, he wondered, or did Etienne merely
believe
that they would?

Hugh sighed. In his innocence he had assumed that the situation facing him was simple; the company profits were falling and he intended to find out why. He had suspected thievery and/or embezzlement all along, but he had not thought that any of the company's partners were involved. That suspicion had come later, although not much later. It was still possible that whoever was behind the losses was someone with no connection to Galland, Lancaster and Dupree. New Orleans was rife with a criminal element, but he doubted that the thief was an outsider. And it was unlikely that the problem was confined to mere employees of the firm. No, Hugh was certain that the person who pulled all the strings was one of the partners. But which one? A tigerish smile curved his mouth. It would be nice if it turned out to be Alain Husson—he would enjoy destroying that arrogant son of a bitch.

"You find my peril amusing?" Etienne asked sharply.

Hugh's smile vanished, and he shook his head. "No. I do not. But I wonder if you have not overestimated the danger. Thievery is one thing, coldblooded murder another. Will these men really kill you?"

"They will."

There was such honest conviction in Etienne's voice that Hugh put his own doubts to rest. Not only, it seemed, was he dealing with thieves, but men who practiced murder as well. He grimaced. Not a pleasant situation. An equally unpleasant thought struck him—if the person who was behind the thefts was one of the partners, this evening he might well have signed Etienne's death warrant by having identified him as his visitor.

Across the distance that separated them, Hugh studied the younger man. Etienne's face was pale and haggard, and there was a quiet desperation in his dark eyes. His decision to help had not come lightly, and Hugh admired his courage.

"You are a brave young man," Hugh said softly.

Etienne shook his dark head and said tiredly, "Indeed, I am not,
monsieur."
He rubbed his fingers across his forehead. "I am my mother's only son, you understand? My father died nearly three years ago, and I have five younger sisters who must be provided for." He smiled sadly and met Hugh's eyes. "My
papa
was a good man, but he did not leave
Maman
or any of us a great deal when he died. Oh, we are not destitute, but
Maman
is relying heavily on what I earn to provide respectable dowries for my sisters."

"I understand," Hugh murmured, his gray eyes full of sympathy, but no pity. To pity this young man would be to offend him.

Etienne's gaze dropped from Hugh's. "It was to earn more money that I gambled," he admitted unhappily. "I thought..." He gave that bitter laugh again. "Oh, it does not matter what I thought. I became heavily in debt and it was then that..." He swallowed and stared at the floor in front of him.

"It was then," Hugh said softly, "that someone approached you with a way to pay off your debts as well as earn extra money, yes?"

"Oui."

"Who was it?"

Etienne slumped in his chair. "I do not know," he said under his breath.

Hugh frowned. "What do you mean? Surely you know his name?"

"I do not. I swear it,
Monsieur!
I received an unsigned note outlining a way in which I could redeem my debts and, as you say, obtain extra money. I threw it away." He glanced at Hugh. "I like to think that I am an honest man,
monsieur.
I did not want to steal. I did not want to become a thief, but
Maman,
my sisters, my debts." He buried his head in his hands. "We would have been ruined! There would have been no husbands for my sisters;
Maman
would have been disgraced. And my debts..."

"A difficult situation," Hugh said gently.

"Several weeks went by, and I heard nothing more. I thought that was the end of it, but it was not. Another note was delivered to me, with the same message. I threw that one away, too... but not right away." He looked at Hugh. "I was tempted,
monsieur.
Vastly. I had lost more money, and the man who held my notes was pressing me to pay."

"Would that have been Alain Husson?"

"It was. How did you guess?"

Hugh shrugged.
"Monsieur
Husson's penchant for gambling and winning is common knowledge. As is the unfortunate luck that seems to befall people who do not pay their debts to him promptly. But go on with your tale."

"There were two more notes to me, each delivered a few weeks apart and finally..." Etienne swallowed, his gaze fixed unhappily on Hugh's face. "And finally, I gave in. I agreed to help. For one shipment only."

"How did you contact the sender of the note? You said you do not know him?"

"I do not. As always, I was given instructions that if I agreed, I was to go to the Silver Cock and leave four silver bits on a specific table. Then I was to leave. I did as I had been instructed."

"The Silver Cock—I do not believe I am familiar with that place."

Etienne gave a mirthless smile. "You would not be. It is a low tavern, a vile den of thieves and vice, located in the Swamp."

Hugh nodded. The Swamp was a notorious area a dozen blocks from the waterfront. Gambling dens, houses of prostitution, and unsavory taverns abounded. The population was composed of ruffians and rogues, whores and pimps, and the unruly riverboat men and others who were not too choosy where they spent their money or laid their heads. Robbery, murder, and rape were common occurrences. It was not an area a respectable man would have normally frequented. The Swamp was a law unto itself.

"I see," Hugh murmured. "And after you followed your instructions?"

Etienne sank back into the chair. "A few days passed, and I heard nothing. I wondered if my message had been received. Then one evening as I was walking home, a hood was dropped over my head, and I was pulled into an alley. I was terrified,
Monsieur!
All I could think of was my poor
maman
and my sisters—how alone they would be if I died." He swallowed again. "But I was not to die. A man with a gruff voice told me precisely what I was to do. Where I would find the supplies I would need. It was a printer's shop and a package was waiting for me. It had my name on it. In the middle of the stack of paper was a note. I had been told to look for it. I was to keep the paper safe and I would be contacted and told more when necessary. Again several weeks went by." Etienne sighed heavily. "And then the ship
La Marie-Rose
arrived from France. Almost the entire ship's cargo was for the company—it was a very large shipment. I started work as I usually do on the inventory that afternoon. That very night I was roughly awakened in my room and found to my terror that these men had dared to enter my home—
Maman
and my sisters were asleep just down the hall. Despite the darkness, they hooded me again, a knife was held to my throat and after swearing to do terrible,
terrible
things to my family if I made a sound, they gave me my instructions." A shudder went through Etienne. "They must have eyes everywhere, else they would not have known that I had even started the inventory. I was told precisely what to do. I was to
pretend
to continue the inventory and to make excuses if
Monsieur
Brisson or anyone else who wanted to know why I was not done with it asked. In two days, I was to begin anew and to make note of any differences. On the special paper I had already been given I was to make a false copy, making it agree with what remained in the warehouse and substitute it where necessary in the original lists. I was to destroy any original pages which would have revealed the theft and keep my mouth shut—they would see to everything else. My money would be paid as soon as the goods were sold."

"And was it?"

"Oh,
oui,"
Etienne said wearily. "It was a grand sum. Enough to pay off all my debts. I felt a new man."

"And?"

"And I was a thief, and I did not like myself very much. I thought that that would be the end of it."

"But you gambled again."

"A little," Etienne answered honestly. "But not a great deal. I
had
learned my lesson. It was not the gambling which trapped me—it was agreeing to help them in the first place. I thought that I would only need to do it that one time, but I had not reckoned with the men who used me. They came back, meeting with me the same way, in an alley with a hood over my head. And they wanted me to do it again and again." Etienne fixed a pleading stare on Hugh. "
Monsieur
, you must believe me when I say I resisted. I did. I wanted nothing more to do with them. But it was made clear that having helped once, if I refused to help again,
everything
would be blamed on me! I
had
to help them or face total ruination." He looked away. "I did what they wanted."

There was a brief silence. It was obvious that Etienne was exhausted. He was slumped in the chair, his head in his hands.

"You never saw their faces?" Hugh asked with a frown.

"Never." Etienne lifted his head and smiled bleakly at Hugh. "I have nothing to prove my story. Not a scrap of paper. Not an identity. Not a thing."

"Did you talk to anyone at the Silver Cock? Or at the printer's shop? Did you try to find out who picked up the silver or who had ordered the paper for you?"

"The Silver Cock is not a place where one asks questions. As for the print shop, I did go back and ask who had placed the order, but no one seemed to know. They were polite and, I am sure, honest. Whoever is doing the stealing is very,
very
clever—and has taken great pains to keep his identity a secret."

It made for an outrageous tale, but Hugh did not doubt a word of it. Careful questioning of Etienne brought little more to light, and by the time Hugh had picked Etienne's brain clean, he knew everything Etienne knew about the thefts. Despite his disappointment with what he had learned, he reassured the young man that his part in the thefts would be kept secret and that he would be rewarded for his help. Showing Etienne to the door, Hugh said quietly, "For the time being you should do your job as you normally would. Until another large shipment arrives they are not likely to contact you." Hugh shot him a piercing look. "The moment you do hear
anything,
let me know
immediately.
Do not hesitate an instant."